Post by misty on Nov 22, 2006 14:20:07 GMT -5
Today will forever be a day of remembrance, a time to remember the man
who had the world of autism on his shoulders. It is with sympathy for
all of us that I inform you that the founder of the Autism Research
Institute and the Autism Society of America, Dr. Bernard Rimland, passed
away today.
To get a feel for who the man Dr. Rimland was, here is a testimony from
him:
"My name is Bernard Rimland. I am a research psychologist (Ph.D.). and
am Director Of the Autism Research Institute, which I founded in 1967.
I am also the founder of the Autism Society of America (1965), and the
editor of the Autism Research Review International. My book, Infantile
Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implication for a Neural Theory of
Behavior (1964) is widely credited with changing the field of psychiatry from
its claim that autism is an emotional illness, caused by destructive
mothers, to its current recognition that autism is a biological disorder.
I have lectured on autism and related problems throughout the world,
and am author of numerous publications. I served as primary technical
advisor on autism for the film Rain Man.
My son Mark was born in 1956. It was obvious from birth that this
perfectly normal-looking infant had something drastically wrong with him. I
had earned my Ph.D in experimental psychology 3 years earlier and had
never encountered the word autism. Our pediatrician, with 35 years of
experience, had never heard of autism either. Autism was extremely rare
then - it is extremely common now.
Some supposed experts will tell you that the increase reflects only
greater awareness. That is nonsense. Any pediatrician, teacher or school
official with 20 or more years experience will confirm what the studies
tell us: there is a real increase in autism and the numbers are huge
and growing. The epidemic is serious and world-wide."
A graveside memorial service will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, November
22, at 2 pm on the Shalom lawn at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego, California. The public is welcome to attend.
The autism community will be forever grateful for the many amazing
accomplishments of Dr. Rimland .
You will be missed: Dr. Bernard Rimland - 1928 - 2006
who had the world of autism on his shoulders. It is with sympathy for
all of us that I inform you that the founder of the Autism Research
Institute and the Autism Society of America, Dr. Bernard Rimland, passed
away today.
To get a feel for who the man Dr. Rimland was, here is a testimony from
him:
"My name is Bernard Rimland. I am a research psychologist (Ph.D.). and
am Director Of the Autism Research Institute, which I founded in 1967.
I am also the founder of the Autism Society of America (1965), and the
editor of the Autism Research Review International. My book, Infantile
Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implication for a Neural Theory of
Behavior (1964) is widely credited with changing the field of psychiatry from
its claim that autism is an emotional illness, caused by destructive
mothers, to its current recognition that autism is a biological disorder.
I have lectured on autism and related problems throughout the world,
and am author of numerous publications. I served as primary technical
advisor on autism for the film Rain Man.
My son Mark was born in 1956. It was obvious from birth that this
perfectly normal-looking infant had something drastically wrong with him. I
had earned my Ph.D in experimental psychology 3 years earlier and had
never encountered the word autism. Our pediatrician, with 35 years of
experience, had never heard of autism either. Autism was extremely rare
then - it is extremely common now.
Some supposed experts will tell you that the increase reflects only
greater awareness. That is nonsense. Any pediatrician, teacher or school
official with 20 or more years experience will confirm what the studies
tell us: there is a real increase in autism and the numbers are huge
and growing. The epidemic is serious and world-wide."
A graveside memorial service will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, November
22, at 2 pm on the Shalom lawn at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego, California. The public is welcome to attend.
The autism community will be forever grateful for the many amazing
accomplishments of Dr. Rimland .
You will be missed: Dr. Bernard Rimland - 1928 - 2006